1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to windows, and more particularly, to an interior window having a blind assembly encased between two panes of glass, with the blind being adjustable from either side of the interior wall in which the window is installed.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a hospital setting, it is common to have an interior window installed in a wall separating a patient's room from a nurses' station or from a secured hallway. Such a window allows a doctor or nurse to easily view the patient without having to enter the patient's room and disturb or awaken the patient. Often, to afford the patient some privacy, curtains or blinds are secured to the frame of the window. However, when the curtains or blinds are secure to the side of the window in the patient's room, the doctor or nurse cannot easily check on the patient when the curtains or blinds are closed. Instead, the doctor or nurse must first enter the patient's room to open the curtains or blinds thereby disturbing the patient and defeating the purpose of the interior window. Likewise, when the curtains or blinds are mounted to the side of the window in the nurses' station or hallway, the patient is unable to easily close the curtains or blinds when privacy is desired.
Similar problems arise when the interior window is double paned with an integrated blind assembly positioned between the two panes of glass. With such a window, the control for the blinds must be mounted on either the patient's side of the window or the doctor and nurses' side of the window. Thus, if mounted on the patient's side, the doctor or nurse will still have to enter the patient's room when the blinds are closed, and if mounted on the doctor and nurses' side, the patient cannot easily close the blinds when privacy is desired.
Furthermore, prior art windows with integrated blinds are not configured to fit in the glazing pocket of a standard size window frame used in a commercial building. Because known windows with integrated blinds are thicker than the glazing pocket in a standard window frame, which varies between ¼ of an inch and one inch, the use of these windows requires the expense of non-standard window frames.
Consequently, an interior window with integrated blinds that can be controlled from either side of the wall in which the window is installed and that fits in a standard-sized commercial window frame is desired.
Patents and publications for windows with an integrated blind having a single blind control include U.S. Pat. No. 3,022,549 issued Feb. 27, 1962 to R. J. Cummings (adjustable shutter in hermetically sealed casing); U.S. Pat. No. 3,153,819 issued Oct. 27, 1964 to J. M. Bond (combined blind and window unit); U.S. Pat. No. 3,201,832 issued Aug. 24, 1965 to V. A. Hordis et al. (hermetically sealed window and blind unit); U.S. Pat. No. 3,253,644 issued May 31, 1966 to K. Gotoh et al. (double glazing window and the like having a blind therein); U.S. Pat. No. 3,389,737 issued Jun. 25, 1968 to B. C. Arnold, et al. (Venetian blind for double glazed sash); U.S. Pat. No. 4,369,828 issued Jan. 25, 1983 to M. J. Tatro (supplemental window and blind unit); U.S. Pat. No. 5,769,142 issued Jun. 23, 1998 to G. Nicolosi (device for operating Venetian blinds by magnetic mechanism); U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,826,638 and 6,070,638 issued Oct. 27, 1998 and Jun. 6, 2000, respectively, to R. Jelic (window having a blind between two panes of glass); U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,059,006; 6,065,524; and 6,332,491 issued May 9, 2000, May 23, 2000 and Dec. 25, 2001, respectfully, to M. Rossini (actuation device and actuation assembly for a Venetian blind or the like arranged inside a double-glazing unit); U.S. Pat. No. 6,550,520 issued Apr. 22, 2003 to M. Rossini et al. (insulating glazing unit provided with a blind); U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2003/0066614 published on Apr. 10, 2003 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,601,633 issued Aug. 5, 2003 to L. Y. Sun et al. (insulating glass blind assembly); and U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2002/0038694 published on Apr. 4, 2002 (combined multiple-glazed window and light control assembly).
Accordingly, none of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed and therefore an interior window with integrated blind solving the aforementioned problems is desired.